Jim Abrams
Director of Mathematics Education
Vermont Institute for Science, Math and Technology
7 West Street
Montpelier, Vt   05602
Ph: (802) 828-0069


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From: [log in to unmask] (Barb Unger)
To: Middle Level Mathematics Network <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: : more on tracking
Date: Tue, Nov 16, 1999, 8:51 PM


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Dear Fred,
        I read your note to Sue Abrams and I would like to respond.  I teach
heterogeneously grouped classes and I also feel that they don't work for
everyone.  I have students that are on the 3rd grade level with students
that are ready to take algebra in my 7th and 8th grade classes.  I believe
that this is too large of a range and the teacher will have difficulty
meeting everyone's needs.  I know Sue and believe me "content background" is
not the problem.  Some students do better in smaller classes that have a
slower pace.  I personally think that giving these students this extra
attention and time is more equitable than placing them in a classroom that
is too much above their level.  A teacher can broaden the range of his/her
content but not to the extent that they have been asked to do.  I also feel
that most of these students like these classes.  I spoke with a teacher in
Clarendon last week, he teaches a small lower ability group and he was
thrilled when one student told him how he loved math this year.  He finally
felt some measure of success.  Barbara Unger









At 01:58 PM 11/16/99 -0500, you wrote:
>----------
>From: "Fred Gross" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Middle Level Mathematics Network <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: more on tracking
>Date: Fri, Nov 12, 1999, 9:45 AM
>
>
>------------------
>In response to Sue Abrams note I believe she has some important points for
>discussion.  To begin, if I understand her story clearly, a school spent
>one year with heterogeneous groups, found problems and reverted back to a
>former model of pulling students out of class.  Working with heterogeneous
>groups means a lot of teacher professional development prior to mixing
>students in classes.  I am curious as to what and how much professional
>development was done prior to and during the time that heterogenous groups
>took place in the middle school she reported in her email?
>
>I also wonder about the notion that the alleged fringes (upper and lower)
>groups were being left out.  One question for me is what is the
>mathematical background of the teachers?  I ask this because in a
>heterogeneously grouped math class, a teacher needs a lot of content
>background as well as a broad range of instructional and assessment
>practices.  This doesn't come easily and does take time.
>
>I wonder about the "stigma" caused by being separated out from peers,
>especially at the middle school.  Did anyone interview the students, who
>were pulled out to ask them about their experiences?  Despite our best
>efforts to give more meaningful mathematics to lower performing students,
>there is a classroom culture that exists when students are separated out
>through some unknown or poorly formed criteria.  These students feel they
>are pulled out, because they aren't as smart and therefore they fulfill
>this prediction of their abilities.  They act out and don't perform.
>
>Although she mentions the Japanese model, how much do we really know about
>Japanese schools?  We have to look to ourselves and talk about our beliefs
>before looking at the structures.  I do believe that all students need to
>be exposed to and work with complex mathematical concepts and ideas.  I
>also believe that this can be done well in a mathematics classroom.  Anne
>Wheelock wrote a book entitled "Crossing the Tracks".  This gives many
>examples of what classrooms and math classrooms can be in our society.
>Students don't have to be lost, nor do teachers or parents.  But, as I
>mentioned before, it takes a lot for forethought, planning, and
>perseverance to make this pay off.  In my experience, students of all
>levels had many successful experiences in a heterogeneous math class.
>
>Keeping the discussion going may be our best method for learning more about
>this important topic.
>
>Fred Gross
>Regional Alliance
>